Rachel Reeves faced a tough grilling from Sky News’ Trevor Phillips after she announced significant tax rises, just months after claiming she had “no plans” to do so.
Pre-Election Promises Questioned
Phillips challenged the chancellor, asking why “a reasonable person would believe a single word you say” following the unexpected tax hikes.
He played a clip from June 11, three weeks before the general election, in which Reeves stated: “I don’t need to become chancellor to know what a mess the government has made of public finances and public services. The tax burden is at its highest level in 70 years. We don’t need higher taxes; what we need is growth. I don’t want to, and I have no plan to increase any taxes beyond what we have already set out.”
£40 Billion in Tax Rises
However, last Wednesday, Reeves announced tax increases totalling £40 billion. She explained that this was necessary to address the £22 billion “black hole” left by the previous Conservative government.
Phillips pressed further: “You said you already knew everything you needed to know, yet on Wednesday you raised taxes by £40 billion. Why should anyone believe what you say now?”
Reeves Defends Her Position
Reeves responded: “I was wrong on June 11. I didn’t know everything. When I arrived at the Treasury on July 5, senior officials revealed the massive gap in public finances, which was hidden from the public, parliament, and even the Office for Budget Responsibility.
“I had to act in the Budget to secure the public finances. We saw in the last parliament what happens when government loses control of finances. Our primary manifesto promise was to restore stability to the economy.”
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